Rikku and Riku?
by luckylifex
Summary: To everyone who kept track of this story, I'M SORRY. I OFFER YOU GUYS MY FIRST BORN. Well, maybe not that. BUT... I do offer you a new chapter! So be entertained with this until I can write some more! School starts soon... So I'll have time
1. Chapter 1

Rikku sat bored out of her mind on the bridge of the Celcius. The wind felt nice, but that was about it. She cracked her neck and knuckles, and suddenly, rain began to patter softly against the ship and her skin.  
  
"Ah, jeez!" she said as she stood up and started to run back into the Celcius.  
  
Suddenly, the huge airship jerked sharply to the let, throwing Rikku off balance.  
  
"Cred!" Rikku cursed as she toppled over to her side, as the rain fell harder.  
  
Just then, Yuna ran out.  
  
"Rikku!" she shouted over the loud storm.  
  
She ran to try and help her, but the Celcius gave another sharp jerk and Yuna fell too, but Rikku was sent to the edge.  
  
"Holy crap! I'm gonna die!!!!" Rikku screamed as she held onto one of the large parts of the ship.  
  
The metal was slippery, as were her fingers, and she couldn't hold on any longer.  
  
"Yunie!" she shouted as she saw Yuna's head pop out above her as her fingers slipped and Rikku fell from hundreds of feet in the air.  
  
She tried to scream, but couldn't. Her hair flapped violently, blocking her view of where she was going to land and most likely die. She was falling very quickly, and she finally looked down and saw a huge mountain right below her.  
  
"Ooh, man! Okay, I didn't wanna steal the little kid's candy, but he wouldn't sell it to me for less than 20 gil! He was sooo mean and he wouldn't gimme my money back!" Rikku continued rambling on things she'd done wrong.  
  
After about a minute of doing this, Rikku finally said, "Well, now I've got a clean conscience!"  
  
Just as she was about to hit the mountain, Rikku braced herself, but when she was supposed to hit it, she didn't feel a thing. Her swift falling pace had slowed and she was now levitating, floating, rather than falling. She opened her eyes and looked around, but saw nothing but darkness. She looked down, and saw a large design of what looked like a princess wearing a pink dress, and it shone brilliantly. Rikku smiled, but the design faded.  
  
She landed softly on what seemed like sand. There was a set of large doors in front of her, huge. Curious, Rikku pulled on the handle of one of them, and once the door was opened a little, poked her head inside and looked around. She saw dark shapes, shadows, kind of, moving everywhere.  
  
"Whoa...this is weird..." she said, and as she was about to step in, she heard a voice from behind.  
  
"Don't go in!"  
  
Rikku turned to see a short boy with chin-length silver hair, a yellow shirt, and blue and black pants. He wore blue and white sneakers.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding upset. "Close the door!"  
  
Rikku tried to push the door closed, but it was too heavy. Suddenly, a stream of darkness shot out of the opening in the door. Rikku watched in amazement, but the expression on the boy's face was pure terror. The boy ran into the door, trying to ram it closed.  
  
"Help me!" he said frantically. "Before more of them escape!"  
  
Blindly, Rikku pushed with all her might to close the doors. Finally when she was just about to faint, the doors shut.  
  
"More of what?" Rikku said, panting.  
  
"The Heartless." the boy said flatly. "By the way, my name's Riku." 


	2. Chapter 2

"What? You can't be Riku," Rikku said, now utterly confused. "I'm Rikku."

"Well, so am I." Riku said, brushing a strand of bluish silver hair out of his face.

Rikku paced the place nervously, mumbling to herself in Al Bhed.

"Ur syh, fryd'ja E kuddah socamv ehdu drec desa? Uuuur, drec muugc NAYMMO pyt..."

Riku looked very confused. "Um, are you okay? You sound like you're dying or something."

Rikku looked up.

"No! I'm speaking in Al Bhed, not that you would know that, but..." Rikku rambled. "Hey, where are we?"

"In the space between light and darkness," Riku replied in a far-off tone.

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

The boy shook his head. "It's a long story."

"Well, I've got awhile, so let's hear it."

Rikku sat down on the white earthen floor, ready to listen. The boy began to pace, looking agitated.

"Not too long ago, Heartless came and attack our island,"

"Our?" Rikku cut it.

"Mine, Sora's, and Kairi's, it was called Destiny Island." Riku replied. "Anyways, we all got separated all over the world. I was alone... But everything happened so fast, and I found myself here over a few months. Sora showed up, and we had to close this door to save the world from being overrun by Heartless."

The boy breathed.

"So," Rikku started, "basically, you saved the world, but one had to stay back, and that was you?"

"Something like that." He sighed.

"Ohhhh," Rikku said quietly, "sorry to hear that."

"Whatever," Riku said unequivocally. "We need to figure out a way out of here. I've been searching for it for awhile now."

Rikku stood up and began to wander around the area.

"Drana'c hudrehk rana..." she whispered to herself.

She spotted an oddly-shaped rock to the left a door. She looked and saw an identical rock on the right side. On each rock there was a symbol, a key. Rikku pondered.

"Hey, what's this?" Rikku called to the boy.

Riku walked over and bent down next to her, examining the rock. His fingers traced the carving in the stone.

"Two keys will open the door to the light..." he said, barely audible.

"Huh?"

"Of course!" Riku said. "The two keys!"

The boy fumbled inside his pockets, finally pulling out a silver chain. Rikku examined it, seeing a silver key.

"You've gotta have the other one," the boy said confidently to Rikku.

"Oh?" Rikku replied. "What makes you so sure?"

"You couldn't have gotten in here without it," Riku said matter-of-factly.

"Come to think of it...." Rikku whispered.

She opened up one of the pouches attached to her skirt, retrieving a gold key she'd found while on a sphere hunt.

"This?" Rikku asked, holding it up for Riku to see.

Riku snatched the key from her hand and examined it closely.

"Yes, this is it!" she said happily.

He handed the key back to her and ran over to the rock on the right.

"Okay, on my count, put the key in the outline in the stone the same time as me, okay?" he said.

"Uh, okay," Rikku agreed uncertainly.

"Okay, one, two, THREE!"

At that second, Rikku and Riku both pressed the keys into the carvings on the stones. At first, Rikku thought nothing had happened. Then she looked to the left and saw a faintly rainbow-colored staircase materializing out of nowhere.

"Wow," Rikku gasped.

"That's our way out," Riku said, smiling broadly.

They both jumped to their feet and walked towards the staircase. Rikku set a foot on it to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, and felt solid something under her boot. She took the next step, then began to climb the other, Riku right behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Man, I'm so sorry, you guys! I've been pretty busy, and… bah, enough with excuses. On to the next chapter!

"Do these stairs _ever_ end?"

The question seemed irrational, but it kept running through Rikku's head. It seemed that these stairs knew no end, but merely continued climbing into the black abyss. The girl's legs were beginning to tire, but the boy showed no sign of exhaustion.

Rikku had tried her best to think of something they could have a decent conversation about, nothing came to mind. Then again, in this sort of situation what _would_ someone talk about? These stairs sure are pretty. What time is it? What a nice black sky we're seeing today… None were really appropriate.

Unable to bare another step, Rikku turned around and plopped herself down on one of the steps. Riku stopped and turned to look at the girl.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What does it look like I'm doin', buddy?" Rikku replied irritably. "I'm taking a break! My legs are killing me, and it feels like we've been climbing these stairs for hours."

Riku sat down next to her and put on a puzzled smile. "All right, but I wouldn't stay here for too long," he warned. "These stairs look like they could, at any moment… disappear."

With that he stood and continued to climb.

_D-disappear?_ Rikku thought.

Uneasiness swept over her and in a minute she was back on her feet, next to Riku, climbing. After a few minutes, Rikku stopped.

"Hey, that was just a trick!" she shouted at Riku. "To get me to keep moving!"

"You're a smart one, huh?" Riku said in a cocky tone. "C'mon, we're almost there anyways."

The boy reached down and took Rikku's hand, gently pulling her further up the stairs. Rikku pouted a bit as the boy pulled her along, but voiced no objection. Minutes passed and what looked like a large door was a few yards ahead.

Finally, they'd reached a platform. Riku released Rikku's hand and went to examine it. Rikku, however, was captivated by the image on the floor. A beautiful princess had her figure imprinted on it. The stunning image looked like it should be in the stained glass windows of a magnificent church. Her pretty brown hair lay comfortably on her shoulders and she wore an attractive blue gown. The beauty of this gown was rivaled only by a sparkling tiara that lay perched above her forhead.

"Hey, Rikku, c'mere!"

Rikku, taken by surprised, jumped at the sound of her name being called. She joined Riku at the giant door. Rikku ran a hand over one of the pearly handles of the double doors.

"Help me push it open." Riku demanded.

"You could at least as, ya know!" Rikku told him.

The two leaned against the giant doors and pushed as hard they could. They pushed and pushed, but the door remained closed and unmoving, as if mocking them.

"Push harder!" Riku barked at the girl.

"Shut up!" Rikku retorted, now growing annoyed at his demands. "I'm pushin' as hard as I can, all right? How about _you_ try putting a little more back into it, 'kay?"

"Stupid woman…" the boy mumbled under his breath.

Rikku, catching this quiet complaint, kicked Riku hard the shin and continued pushing.

"What was that for, you idiot!" he asked, his face beginning to grow red with his rising anger.

"For being a meanie, that's what!" Rikku replied simply. "Now, shut up and push, I think it's almost open."

Sure enough, after maybe a second more of pushing, the double doors surrendered and began to open. Exhausted, the two backed away from the door as it bathed them in bright white light. Rikku raised an arm to shield her eyes from the blinding light. She squinted, then closed her eyes. The last thing she saw before doing so was Riku shutting his eyes tightly.


End file.
